Wave is awesome - I use it for my (side) business since 2018. Just sad they don‘t connect with banks outside of US/CAN anymore. Quickbooks does but I like Wave more.
Gunnar, after I published this I wondered the same thing. Wondered if people outside of North America could use it. I was too lazy to Google it lol. Thank you for sharing this and yeah, it is too bad! I wonder why they stopped?
I love that you charge in CAD Kristi. It says a lot about your integrity. This post is GOLD. I’m curious how Wave can support me because my services are such that a prospect needs to read a page of copy before they decide what they want to buy. How can this work? If you have a response I’m eager to hear it—and take action on how to add Buy buttons to my Substack essays.
Uma, I think everyone loves that I charge in CAD because I'm a total bargain for anyone who pays in USD lol. Our dollar is crap compared to USD 😂
So, are you saying that you offer multiple services and people will read the page and then decide? If that's the case, go to the link in my navigation bar that says "Buy Now"
You could do it sort of like that...write your page of copy, then have little blurbs at the end with individual buttons like I've done on that page.
Go look at it and let me know if I'm on the right track with your question.
I meant it as an affirmation, Kristi. Because I know folks who live in India and overcharge in USD which is such a shame! Re my offers, I think you are on point. I’d be happy to outsource setting this up to you.
Desiree, I usually Google whether or not my favorite things have affiliate programs. When I Googled Wave affiliate program the result took me to a service called Impact. It is an affiliate warehouser where you can apply for SO MANY affiliate programs. I recommend just googling affiliate programs for whatever service you like. Often, they have their own, sometimes none.
Fascinating. As others have said, this one looks like it's probably not suitable for people outside North America, but having these direct links to buy services and things is a fantastic idea, and could almost certainly be applied to other providers. Anything that makes the buying process simpler for people can be hugely valuable... 😎
Exactly! I'm sure there are others that could do similar things. Funny thing is, I signed up for Wave before I even knew it had the checkouts. I just needed it for invoicing and accounting. The checkouts were a very unexpected delight that made my life SO much simpler!
Oh how we need "true Kristi-fashion" to help us!! That is truly one of your gifts and much appreciated by us hobbits and "grundoons"! I am not ready to pursue the instant payment stuff but I will consider for future reference. Thank you for all your kindness and dedication for all of us Substacki's!
I love Wave, too! I was able to train myself on it fairly easily, and used the free features until I was ready to use it to get paid, etc. My favourite feature is the add-on receipt scanner app. That has saved my life, lol!
Isn't it a wonderful system? I've never scanned receipts but I sure do love all the features. And they keep improving, like now you can send attachments with invoices. That was a great add-on for time reports.
Check it out if it fits your business model. It's such a fabulous tool! I just got Wave for accounting purposes but when I discovered the checkouts, it was a total bonus!
Kristi, thank you for sharing this - useful and timely. I’m tempted to try Wave’s free plan. I was setting up to ‘go paid’ here with voluntary subscriptions, but now I’m mulling using Wave links for voluntary donations. I’m curious, with Wave doing your books, how do you integrate Substack subscription fees which come in through Stripe?
Also, Wave is connected to my bank account so it tracks ALL incoming payments and outgoing expenses, subscriptions included. I have 3 different substacks.
Any Indian payment services like Razorpay, Google Pay India or Amazon Pay India I can use with Substack? Stripe has shut shop in India and left a lot of users in the derch. Does Substack have any alternatives for India?
Is there any issue with using this service from Substack's financial point of view (or even their T&Cs)? They make their money by taking a cut of the payments subscribers send via Stripe. If Substack writers made their content free and/or used one-time checkouts then wouldn't Substack be losing out on revenue?
Johnathan, in my specific examples I'm using checkouts to sell my services as a Substack virtual assistant. Not as replacement money for subscriptions.
Regarding "tips" versus subscriptions, sure Substack wouldn't be getting their cut but until they offer a built in tip option, we have every right to use the ones we want.
Wave is awesome - I use it for my (side) business since 2018. Just sad they don‘t connect with banks outside of US/CAN anymore. Quickbooks does but I like Wave more.
Ah... I think you just answered my question. Without European banks and VAT handling, Wave is a non-starter for me.
Gunnar, after I published this I wondered the same thing. Wondered if people outside of North America could use it. I was too lazy to Google it lol. Thank you for sharing this and yeah, it is too bad! I wonder why they stopped?
I love that you charge in CAD Kristi. It says a lot about your integrity. This post is GOLD. I’m curious how Wave can support me because my services are such that a prospect needs to read a page of copy before they decide what they want to buy. How can this work? If you have a response I’m eager to hear it—and take action on how to add Buy buttons to my Substack essays.
Uma, I think everyone loves that I charge in CAD because I'm a total bargain for anyone who pays in USD lol. Our dollar is crap compared to USD 😂
So, are you saying that you offer multiple services and people will read the page and then decide? If that's the case, go to the link in my navigation bar that says "Buy Now"
You could do it sort of like that...write your page of copy, then have little blurbs at the end with individual buttons like I've done on that page.
Go look at it and let me know if I'm on the right track with your question.
I meant it as an affirmation, Kristi. Because I know folks who live in India and overcharge in USD which is such a shame! Re my offers, I think you are on point. I’d be happy to outsource setting this up to you.
Let me email you about this. I have a pretty busy weekend but I'll shoot you an email when I have a few minutes. 😊
Of course! Thank you 😊
I use Found and I wonder if I can do this too...
Slightly unrelated question, but how would one go about getting affiliate links for services or products not on Amazon?
Desiree, I usually Google whether or not my favorite things have affiliate programs. When I Googled Wave affiliate program the result took me to a service called Impact. It is an affiliate warehouser where you can apply for SO MANY affiliate programs. I recommend just googling affiliate programs for whatever service you like. Often, they have their own, sometimes none.
Oh wow, thank you!
You're welcome!!
Fascinating. As others have said, this one looks like it's probably not suitable for people outside North America, but having these direct links to buy services and things is a fantastic idea, and could almost certainly be applied to other providers. Anything that makes the buying process simpler for people can be hugely valuable... 😎
Exactly! I'm sure there are others that could do similar things. Funny thing is, I signed up for Wave before I even knew it had the checkouts. I just needed it for invoicing and accounting. The checkouts were a very unexpected delight that made my life SO much simpler!
Oh how we need "true Kristi-fashion" to help us!! That is truly one of your gifts and much appreciated by us hobbits and "grundoons"! I am not ready to pursue the instant payment stuff but I will consider for future reference. Thank you for all your kindness and dedication for all of us Substacki's!
WEW
Wendy, it's my pleasure! Just glad my tips are helping people 😊
This was amazing. Consider me now educated and smarter.
I love Wave, too! I was able to train myself on it fairly easily, and used the free features until I was ready to use it to get paid, etc. My favourite feature is the add-on receipt scanner app. That has saved my life, lol!
Isn't it a wonderful system? I've never scanned receipts but I sure do love all the features. And they keep improving, like now you can send attachments with invoices. That was a great add-on for time reports.
Awesome tip! I’ve used Wave for years and never thought about doing payment links right from there as always used PayPal and now Stripe 🙊
Check it out if it fits your business model. It's such a fabulous tool! I just got Wave for accounting purposes but when I discovered the checkouts, it was a total bonus!
Awesome! I am going to check this out to help sell my book. As a client of Kristi’s I can confirm it’s totally brilliant. As is Kristi. 😄
Thanks Rosy 😊
Kristi, thank you for sharing this - useful and timely. I’m tempted to try Wave’s free plan. I was setting up to ‘go paid’ here with voluntary subscriptions, but now I’m mulling using Wave links for voluntary donations. I’m curious, with Wave doing your books, how do you integrate Substack subscription fees which come in through Stripe?
Karen, first, I don't think you'll get the checkout buttons with the free Wave plan. Don't quote me but I think that's a pro feature. If you wanted to set up donations/tips you're probably better off going with a tipping app. They're specifically set up for this. I wrote a quick post about tipping here: https://open.substack.com/pub/unstackit/p/stop-feeling-awkward-asking-for-tips?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2qffbg
Also, Wave is connected to my bank account so it tracks ALL incoming payments and outgoing expenses, subscriptions included. I have 3 different substacks.
Thank you so much, Kristi, that’s very helpful info!
Does it work in other countries outside of America?
I'm in Canada and it works. It's best to go look at their FAQ.
It doesn't work with European banks or currencies or VAT handling.
Any Indian payment services like Razorpay, Google Pay India or Amazon Pay India I can use with Substack? Stripe has shut shop in India and left a lot of users in the derch. Does Substack have any alternatives for India?
Rohit, I'm not sure. I don't work for Substack but you can refer to their support docs or the help chat bot.
Thanks Kristi.
Is there any issue with using this service from Substack's financial point of view (or even their T&Cs)? They make their money by taking a cut of the payments subscribers send via Stripe. If Substack writers made their content free and/or used one-time checkouts then wouldn't Substack be losing out on revenue?
Johnathan, in my specific examples I'm using checkouts to sell my services as a Substack virtual assistant. Not as replacement money for subscriptions.
Regarding "tips" versus subscriptions, sure Substack wouldn't be getting their cut but until they offer a built in tip option, we have every right to use the ones we want.
I love what you done here and will look at this.... Hope it's international as I generally work with USA, UK AND ES
I think as long as you have a Canadian or USA bank account, you can use it. People from all over the world can pay you.
Ah cool, yes I have WISE account so any currency, thank you! 👌